Lady Raiders’ historic season ends at state semifinals

Lumberton’s Head Coach Jason Hopson talks to players during the UIL Class 4A girls state semifinal against Stephenville at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown on Wednesday. Lumberton fell 5-1 to the Honeybees. Photo taken on Wednesday, 04/17/19. Ryan Welch/The Enterprise less

Lumberton’s Head Coach Jason Hopson talks to players during the UIL Class 4A girls state semifinal against Stephenville at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown on Wednesday. Lumberton fell 5-1 to the Honeybees. ... more

Photo: Ryan Welch, The Enterprise

Photo: Ryan Welch, The Enterprise

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Lumberton’s Head Coach Jason Hopson talks to players during the UIL Class 4A girls state semifinal against Stephenville at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown on Wednesday. Lumberton fell 5-1 to the Honeybees. Photo taken on Wednesday, 04/17/19. Ryan Welch/The Enterprise less

Lumberton’s Head Coach Jason Hopson talks to players during the UIL Class 4A girls state semifinal against Stephenville at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown on Wednesday. Lumberton fell 5-1 to the Honeybees. ... more

Photo: Ryan Welch, The Enterprise

Lady Raiders’ historic season ends at state semifinals

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GEORGETOWN — After only allowing one goal in their previous five playoff games combined, the Lumberton Lady Raiders couldn't keep up with a strong and speedy Stephenville offense on Wednesday afternoon.

Lumberton's first trip to the UIL state soccer tournament in school history ended with a 5-1 loss at Birkelbach Stadium in the Class 4A semifinal round.

Two goals in the first eight minutes gave Stephenville an early lead, but Lumberton responded late in the half with a goal to get back in the game.

Despite making multiple defensive adjustments that coach Jason Hopson said included a change in formation, Lumberton was unable to slow down Stephenville's attack.

Stephenville followed up its early outburst with three goals in the second half, ending any hope of a comeback by the Lady Raiders.

"I'm speechless, but I'm also so proud of what this team accomplished," senior forward Kambrie McFarland said after the loss.

"It's just a blessing to play with such relentless teammates," McFarland added. "We've got someone with a broken nose. Reagan (Bowman) has been through two foot surgeries. Macy (Taylor) has gone through three leg surgeries. We never gave up and kept coming back harder, because that's why this team is about."

Stephenville's two quick goals to start the game both came from junior midfielder Claire Choate.

For her first goal, Choate found a bouncing ball in the box after a free kick and blasted it into the back of the net. Just a few minutes later, she was on the scoring end of another effective Stephenville attack.

After Lumberton's slow start, Hopson said the message to his team was simple: settle down. Switching to a 4-3 formation in the defensive half helped the Lady Raiders do that.

"Even though they got those two goals, I thought once we figured it out, overcame and adapted, we were able go back and forth with them."

Needing a momentum swing late in the first half, McFarland provided just that with a header that found its way into the net.

A long cross attempt into the box by sophomore Chaise Reagan was directed by McFarland past the Stephenville keeper, cutting Lumberton's deficit in half heading into the locker room.

"I wasn't even thinking about the score," McFarland said. "I just wanted everybody to realize that we could do this."

Although the first few minutes of the second half were fairly even, Stephenville soon started to pull away.

After Stephenville hit multiple posts in the first 20 minutes of the second half, junior forward Ciara Johnston finished one past Lumberton keeper Autumn Rodriguez following a long feed into the box from the midfield.

Johnston's goal put Lumberton behind 3-1 with 17:46 left in the game. Stephenville would score twice more before the final whistle, and advanced into the 4A state championship game on Thursday.

Lumberton ends its season at 23-4-2 overall after going undefeated in district play. The Lady Raiders have qualified for the state playoffs in 28 consecutive seasons.

Hopson said with 11 underclassmen returning to the team, this season was only a sign of things to come.

"I have the program, and the program don't lie," Hopson said. "Now the girls know. They know what it takes and they know they have what it takes."